Issaquah School District changes class requirements to recommendations
March 22, 2011
In the past, high school students have needed to fulfill specific class requirements before taking higher-level courses.
Starting this fall, Issaquah School District administrators are changing those prerequisites to learning recommendations.
“We’re trying to increase access for students,” Executive Director of Secondary Education Patrick Murphy said. “We used to say, ‘You must have at least a B-minus to take this class.’ But what if I have a C-plus?”
Changing the prerequisites to learning recommendations has been a year and a half in the making. Throughout the year, Murphy meets with the principals from Issaquah, Liberty, Tiger Mountain Community and Skyline high schools. The group brainstorms ways it can increase access for students.
The access talks serve as an umbrella for several subjects, including how the district could increase student access to quality teachers, better activities and challenging courses.
This is not the first time the district has changed prerequisites to learning recommendations. Middle school students traditionally had to take a sixth-grade math placement test. If students performed poorly on the placement test, or if they missed the mark by a few points, they would be placed in the regular class.
City planners approve Hyla Crossing extension
March 22, 2011
City planners approved a request March 4 to allow Rowley Properties until 2014 to develop the Hyla Crossing area near Interstate 90 and the base of Cougar Mountain.
The city approved the initial plan in July 1998. The approval remained valid for a decade. Rowley Properties requested a three-year extension, and in March 2008, the City Council extended the deadline to July 2011.
The developer sought and received another three-year extension for the master site plan. Now, the plan is valid until July 2014.
Hyla Crossing has been approved for about 620,000 square feet of commercial use on about 45 acres.
Some of the area — including a Hilton Garden Inn and a Chevrolet dealership — already came to fruition. The approved plan also includes office buildings and parking structures.
Most of the property is zoned for intensive commercial use, and a small portion along Tibbetts Creek is zoned for professional office use.
Hyla Crossing is also part of a long-term effort to redevelop the city’s 915-acre business district.
Should principals come from education backgrounds?
March 22, 2011
Legislators consider bill to answer question
A bill pushing to allow noneducators to work as school principals does not sit well with those now on the job.
Josh Almy, Ed Marcoe and Ron Thiele, all who have served as principals and teachers, said that while a few exceptional leaders might succeed in the principal world under the auspices of the bill, the majority of incoming principals would benefit if they tried their hand at teaching first.
“The educational system acts a little different from the private sector,” said Almy, principal of Beaver Lake Middle School. “If I were coming in from the private sector, the learning curve would be pretty steep.”
To which state Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, said leadership is leadership.
House Bill 1593, which Anderson co-sponsored, passed the House and sits in the Senate this week. If it becomes law, it would allow noneducators to become principals.
“It’s an alternative certification path for individuals who are not certified educators,” Anderson said. “We have an opportunity to find well-qualified people to become principals.”
The program, which school districts would opt into, would be reviewed after one year, Anderson said.
Under the program, a school district must recommend an applicant to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, which would review his or her qualifications.
Candidates would receive intensive mentoring for at least one school year, the bill reads.
A week without…
March 22, 2011
My attempt at a week without my cell phone
By Katie Sutherland
It’s a known fact that many Americans — especially high school students — are too “plugged in” to technology.
So in honor of March’s National Day of Unplugging, I was asked by my editor to spend an entire week without using my phone.
Unplugging myself was much easier said than done. After trying and failing several times, I realized that a week without a cell phone is virtually impossible. As hard as I tried, I often found myself sending a text message or making a call.
Nevertheless, the National Day of Unplugging wasn’t a complete failure for me. While I still carried my cell phone with me every day, I only texted or called when absolutely necessary. I set an actual alarm clock for the first time in years instead of using the one on my phone.
These changes, however, weren’t the difficult ones. Spending a week without having Angry Birds, Facebook, Cliff’s Notes, Words With Friends and all my other favorite apps in the palm of my hand was practically torture. By the end of the week, though, it had become easier to live without my smart phone glued to my hand.
Even though I technically cheated, I still learned my lesson — it’s nice not to be constantly distracted by technology. In the end, that’s what the National Day of Unplugging is about.
Salmon Days nets awards for promotion of 2010 festival
March 22, 2011
The iconic Salmon Days Festival earned eight awards March 15 in a state ranking of top festivals.
Salmon Days received the top honor — a Gold Summit Award — for Best Overall Promotional Campaign, Best T-shirt, Best New Green Program and Best Other Merchandise for the punny Fishlips Fish Balm.
In the next tier, the festival received Silver Summit Awards for Best Pin and Best Community Program; and Bronze Summit Awards for Best Promotional Poster and Best Events Program.
The Issaquah Press produces the Salmon Days Ohfishal Program for the festival organizer, the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce.
The professional competition from the Washington Festivals and Events Association attracts entries from festivals and event producers in the Evergreen State.
Salmon Days competed against festivals in the $150,000-and-more budget category. The awards honored the 2010 festival and the theme “Something up our leaves.”
Organizers received the awards at the Northwest Festivals and Events Conference in Bellevue.
The festival last October attracted more than 180,000 people to downtown Issaquah and the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. Salmon Days returns for a 42nd year Oct. 1-2.
Troopers nab impaired St. Patrick’s Day drivers
March 22, 2011
Post-St. Patrick’s Day hangovers started early for some drivers late March 17 and early March 18, as state troopers arrested 29 motorists for driving under the influence.
Troopers made the arrests in a 12-hour period — including at least one arrest along Interstate 90 near Issaquah — and reported no fatality collisions.
The state patrol added four troopers to the regular patrol to crack down on impaired drivers. In addition, state patrol King County Target Zero team members usually work Thursday evenings, including St. Patrick’s Day.
DUI arrests made in the 12-hour period starting at 5 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day totaled more than double what the agency has arrested on any Thursday night so far in 2011.
Issaquah police officers did not make any alcohol-related arrests on the holiday.
Several troopers investigated a serious injury hit-and-run accident just after midnight at the Mount Baker Tunnel.
During holidays or special events with a history of serious injury and deadly collisions related to drinking and driving, law enforcement agencies step up enforcement to catch impaired drivers.
Target Zero Teams include more than 35 police agencies in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Several additional agencies participated in the patrols in King County on St. Patrick’s Day.
King County shifts to biennial budgeting
March 22, 2011
Like the state and some municipal governments, the King County Council has taken a step to shift the county to a biennial, or two-year, budgeting process.
Officials said the shift to biennial budgeting extends the planning period for county departments to further examine and define budgets.
The longer timeframe also allows the executive and council to improve program evaluation, enhance performance management and encapsulate cost-savings during the budget process.
The council unanimously adopted legislation to set the schedule for county agencies to transition to a biennial budgeting process. The Department of Development and Environmental Services, the county permitting agency, is on track to join the Department of Transportation in delivering a biennial budget for the 2012-13 cycle.
Voters approved a county charter amendment in 2003 to allow leaders to shift all county departments to biennial budgeting. The council adopted the timeline for adoption Feb. 28.
Leaders expect all nongeneral fund budgets to transition to biennial budgeting for 2013, and all county agencies should deliver biennial budgets for the 2015 King County budget. The spending plan should be adopted in fall 2014.
King County Council lists smart spending as a top priority
March 22, 2011
The priorities for King County leaders for the next five years include fiscal sustainability, a more responsive and transparent county government, and a focus on improving the quality of life for residents.
County Council offered unanimous approval March 14 for the priorities, a list known as the Operational Strategic Plan. The goals build upon a framework established in the countywide strategic plan adopted last year.
The adopted plan lays out the council’s top priorities for the next five years: establishing policies to protect and enhance the economy, environment, health and safety for county residents; maintaining and enhancing financial strength for the county; and maintaining and increasing public trust in the council and county institutions.
The adopted plan also calls for the development of identifiable measures, so progress can be monitored and presented in quarterly reports to the public.
“The main focus on accountability in this strategic plan is a constant reminder about the imperative for government to serve its citizens in the most efficient, accessible manner,” Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, the Issaquah representative and chairwoman of the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee, said in a news release.
DUI accident injures driver, destroys classic car
March 22, 2011
The driver of a 1968 Corvette was partially ejected and taken to Overlake Medical Center with serious injuries. Police later arrested him for suspicion of DUI. By Washington State Patrol
Washington State Patrol troopers said a Bellevue man flipped a classic Corvette in a March 20 crash along Interstate 90 near Issaquah.
Troopers said the 52-year-old driver crashed the 1968 Corvette on the westbound interstate near West Lake Sammamish Parkway at about 5:20 p.m. Responders to the crash scene discovered the car upside down on the right road shoulder and the driver partially ejected from the mangled vehicle. The accident did involve any other vehicles.
Troopers said witnesses observed the vehicle traveling at high speed and then crashing into a concrete jersey wall and rolling onto the road shoulder.
Medics transported the seriously injured driver to Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue. Troopers later arrested him for suspicion of driving under the influence.
The Issaquah Press invites readers to conversation group
March 22, 2011
The Issaquah Press wants to hear from readers about what they read most often in the paper and what components are missing.
Readers are invited to join a conversation group led by a moderator. Two sessions will be held: 6:30-8 p.m. April 14 and 1-2:30 p.m. April 15. Both groups will meet at the Hailstone Feed Store, the historic gas station, along Front Street North.
It has been eight years since the last readership focus groups were held, said Debbie Berto, publisher of The Press.
“Times have certainly changed since then,” she said. “We need to hear from our readers about what is important to them today, not eight years ago. The Internet, smaller daily newspaper coverage and other competition has caused us to refocus some of our news space in recent years. But is it what readers want? More important, is it what they want in the future?”
Interested readers need to apply for one of the two dozen spots. Applicants will be selected to involve a range of readers of varying ages, lengths of residency and various neighborhoods.
Those who are not chosen for the groups will participate in a survey to gather their opinions about various topics.
